Tygh Valley in Wasco County, Oregon — The American West (Northwest)
Tygh Valley
The Oregon Trail
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 3, 2017
1. Tygh Valley Marker
"After descending a long, steep, rocky and very tedious hill, we have campt in a valley on the bank of Indian (Tygh) Creek, near some Frenchmen who have a trading post. There are also a good many Indians encamped around us." -- Amelia Stewart Knight, Emigrant of 1853
Tygh Valley's name is inherited from this area's original residents, the Tygh Indians, who camped and traded with the early emigrants here.
1845 Oregon Trail pioneers followed a wagon road here from the Dalles. Their route crossed Tygh Ridge and tumbled down to the valley floor just across from today's Wasco County Fairgrounds.
By 1850, some Oregon Trail travelers used a shortcut from the John Day River. It came across the Deschutes River and west to Tygh Valley. In doing so, the emigrants bypassed The Dalles and avoided many miles.
When leaving the valley on the new Barlow Road, travelers used many of the draws to the West especially the one near the fairground.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Roads & Vehicles • Settlements & Settlers.
Location. 45° 14.43′ N, 121° 11.214′ W. Marker is in Tygh Valley, Oregon, in Wasco County. It is on Wamic Market Road near St. Charles
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Regionally, this marker is in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge. It is also on the American Pacific Coast, in the Pacific Northwest, and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Cascade Range, the Pacific Rim, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least one other marker is within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Sherar's Bridge Area (approx. 7.4 miles away).
More about this marker. The marker is at a turnout overlooking Tygh Valley about 1/2 mile west of town.
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 3, 2017
2. Tygh Valley Marker
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 3, 2017
3. Tygh Valley
Credits. This page was last revised on December 14, 2024. It was originally submitted on January 11, 2018, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 1,639 times since then and 72 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 11, 2018, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
